Inwood:

A Robert Stern-designed floating barge opened on the Harlem River to bring the wonderfully demanding sport of rowing to Manhattan. This stellar New York Restoration Project is now an active boathouse for local schoolchildren and is home to the New York Rowing Association.

A Robert Stern-designed floating barge opened on the Harlem River to bring the wonderfully demanding sport of rowing to Manhattan. This stellar New York Restoration Project is now an active boathouse for local schoolchildren and is home to the New York Rowing Association.

We all have paths that take us through our commutes and daily lives, and I’m particularly fond of the path that took me home from my retail store in Chelsea Market every evening for a year. Leaving the store, I would walk down Ninth Avenue which becomes Hudson and turn left on Bleecker Street, following it until I turned right on Mercer. It cuts through the south of Chelsea, through the Meatpacking District and down to the West Village into Soho. I became enamored with the variety these neighborhoods offer.

As I leave the Eleni’s store and Chelsea Market, the first visible business is a lumberyard, which begins the walk that is charmingly full of so many different sides of New York. Looking west, you can see the High Line running for several blocks, the defunct and beautifully rusted elevated train tracks. There is evidence of the recent transition of the Meatpacking ... [more]

Eleni Gianopulos, Eleni's.

The Meatpacking District

The Meatpacking District is a small area on the west side of Manhattan that runs from the Hudson River to 11th Avenue and includes West 13th, 14th, and 15th Streets; Little West 12th; and Gansevoort--all now a-glitter in fashionable shops and cafés, including Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen. The area is known for restaurants as well: Florent, the neighborhood’s first love is now replaced by many larger establishments -- Buddakan, Del Posto, Pastis, and Frank’s. The Gansevoort is the chic hotel in the neighborhood--a lovely contrast, or complement to, a rowdy evening of shots and beers at Hogs & Heifers.